The Lion King: Through Simba's Eyes
by Brasta Septim
Summary: The lion king through simba's eyes. yes, another fluffy simba/nala fanfic. Rated T for violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I ran down the slope of the bottom part of Pride Rock, elated by the idea of ruling all the Pride lands. I knew Dad and Uncle Scar didn't want me to go to the outlands, but my curiosity was too great. Besides, I wanted my best friend, Nala, to come with me. We'd been the best of friends since we'd been born. Though for some reason, she wasn't too popular with the other cubs. Neither was I; the others just rolled their eyes when I went past and muttered sarcastically, "His Highness approaches." But I don't know why they didn't like her; she was awfully nice. Though, it was fine with me; I knew I could trust Nala with anything.

From where I was on the slope, I spotted my mom and Sarafina. And in Sarafina's arms was Nala, being bathed by her mom and looking none too happy about it. I ran down towards two lionesses and my friend. "Hey, Nala!" I said brightly.

"Hi, Simba." She returned, looking slightly embarrassed at being caught being given a bath. My mother gave me a strange smile, causing me to blink, confused, before turning back to Nala. "Come on. I just heard about this great place." Nala's teeth were clenched and the creamy fur of her face took on a pinkish tinge. "Simba!" she tried to say through her teeth, "I'm kind of in the middle of a bath." I had no warning before my mother picked me up by the scruff of the neck, saying in my ear, "And it's time for yours."

I tried to escape, struggling as she licked my fur, "Mom!" I said, blushing pink myself, "Mom. You're messing up my mane!" I whined. Mom set me down after a few more seconds of embarrassing torment and gave me the same weird smile. I shook myself off and said, "Okay, okay, I'm clean." I looked at Nala, "Can we go now?" I looked at my mom and Nala's mom. "Certainly," Said Mom and Sarafina, exchanging a conspiratorial look.

Once Nala's bath was over, she looked at me excitedly, asking, "So where are we going? It better not be someplace dumb." I reassured her with, "No. It's really cool." Then my mother leaned toward me, her eyes sparkling with something I couldn't figure out. "So where is this 'really cool' place?"

I froze. "Uh…." I couldn't let Mom or Sarafina know where we were really going, so I said, "The water hole." Nala looked at me, surprised and slightly frustrated, "The water hole? What's so special about the water hole?" I leaned towards her and whispered, "I'll show you when we get there."

"Oh," she whispered back, her grey-blue eyes registering the message. She turned around and looked at her mom, "Uh, mom? Can I go with Simba?" Again with the conspiratorial glance between our mothers. "Hmm…" she said to Mom, "What do you think, Sarabi?" Mom glanced at the pleading look on my face and said, "Well…" "Pleeeeeease?" Nala and I said at the same time, giving our most convincing smiles. Mom looked at me again and said, "Well, it's all right with me." Nala and I could barely contain our joy, expressed with shouts of "Yeah!" and "All right!" Then Mom gave me her annoying "There's one little caveat," look. I knew there was going to be a condition. And my dread was confirmed when she said, "As long as Zazu goes with you."

All the joy evaporated out of me and turned to frustration as we stopped dead in our tracks. "No, not Zazu." I whined at Mom. The old banana-beak was the worst part-pooper known to lion. But sure enough, the overgrown toucan appeared nearby and said, "Hello Simba. I will be making sure you two do not come to harm." I glanced at Nala and saw the look of horror on her face as we thought in unison. _Not him!_

.


	2. Ditching the Dodo

Well, my surprise for Nala was pretty much ruined. We were heading towards the water hole with Zazu flying overhead, saying in that annoying tone of his, "Step lively. The sooner we get to the water hole, the sooner we can leave." I sighed in exasperation as the annoying bird kept his eye on us, putting a damper on our excitement. As we walked across the dusty path to the watering hole, Nala nudged me and whispered, "So where are we really going?" I knew she would be excited so I told her the truth, "An elephant graveyard."

"Wow!" Nala exclaimed in awe. But I shushed her quickly, "Shhh! Remember Zazu." I whispered. We both looked up at the old hornbill before Nala choked back a snicker, "Right." she whispered again, "So how are we going to ditch the dodo?" A light popped on in my head, and I whispered to her, "Oh, I know how we can…"

At that moment, Banana-beak landed in front of us, obviously hearing our conversation. I was worried he knew what we were talking about until he said, "Oh, just look at you two. Little seeds of romance blossoming in the savannah. Your parents will be thrilled ...what with your being betrothed and all." Nala and I looked at each other, confused, and I said, "Be-what?" Zazu immediately took on the role of living dictionary; however, he just confused us more when he tried to explain. "Betrothed. Intended. Affianced." Nala and I looked at him, and she said, "Meaning…"

"One day, you two are going to be _married_!"

I thought and said my opinion of the idea, "Yuck!" to which Nala responded, "Eww." The idea was too gross; Nala and I married? "I can't marry her. She's my friend." Nala agreed with me, "Yeah. It'd be too weird." The old majordomo started talking in his lecture voice, "Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but you two turtle-doves have no choice. It's a tradition..." I looked at Nala and mimicked the bird's exaggerated gestures and expression. We both had to fight back a snigger as Zazu continued, "…that goes back _generations_." All I was hearing was a bunch of stuff that happened in the past. Goodness, grown-ups were so annoying sometimes. I stood up proudly and said, "Well, when I'm king, that'll be the first thing to go." The bird looked down at me, shaking his feathery head, "Not so long as I'm around." I looked at him and said, "Well, in that case, you're fired." Zazu shook his head again, "Hmm…Nice try, but only the _King_ can do that," he said, poking me in the nose. Thankfully, Nala spoke up for me, "Well, he is the future king."

"Yeah," I agreed wholeheartedly, a new sense of smugness coming over me. I thumped Zazu in his feathery chest playfully and said, "So _you _have to do what I tell you." Zazu ruffled his feathers indignantly and said, "Not yet I don't. And with an attitude like that, I'm afraid you're shaping up to be a pretty pathetic king indeed." I was stung by the remark, but I replied confidently, "Hmph. Not the way _I_ see it." Before Zazu could say anything else, I looked at Nala, whispered, "I have a plan." And turned back around. I faked a scared face and pointed over Zazu's shoulder, "Hey, look! It's a hyena!" He spun around and flew off a few feet away towards a rust-colored boulder I had pointed at. In the few seconds he had his back turned, I nodded at Nala and we both flattened ourselves in the grass. When he discovered it was just a rock, he heard him say, "What? This is only a rock! Wait…Nala and Simba, where are you?" He couldn't see us in the grass; we blended in too well. Laughing to each other, I slinked away towards the outlands, her right behind me while the bird flew around in circles, trying to find us. I was the best prank I'd ever played on Zazu!

A


	3. The elephant Graveyard

We laughed uproariously while we got away from Zazu. "All right, it worked!" I said proudly. "Yeah…" Nala chuckled excitedly as we walked, "…We lost 'im!" I was so proud at this moment, I felt like the world to stop until I made my next statement, "I…am a genius." Kala snorted and said, "Hey, Genius, it was my idea." She gave me her famous, "give me credit for this, or I'll pin ya," stare. I looked at her, brimming with too much pride to let her take the credit, "Yeah, but _I_ pulled it off." She fake glared at me and said, "With me!" I gave her a playful look and said, "Oh yeah? Rarrr!" I growled and jumped at her playfully, and somehow she had me pinned with my back on the ground in a matter of seconds. How she flipped me over, I still have no idea. Every time we would wrestle she would always pin me. Anyway, she looked down at me and said confidently, "Pinned ya, _your highness._" I was annoyed by the speed of her victory as struggled, "Hey, lemme up!" I complained. Smiling smugly, she took her front paws off my chest and turned. In an attempt to regain my wounded pride, I jumped at her again. We rolled down a short hill, and she had me in the same position again. She grinned and said, "Pinned ya, again." Then we looked and saw where we were.

We stood in a dark, rocky valley littered with elephant bones all around. Geysers sprayed boiling water into the air every few seconds. I looked at her awestruck face and said, "We're here. This is it." It was exciting to be here, but it was also really bleak and creepy from the ledge we had landed on. "Whoa!" we said in unison, taking in the strange new environment. Nala moved back a few paces, her ears flattening against her head, "It's really creepy." I was worried she didn't like the surprise, but the mix of excitement and curiosity in her face told me otherwise. "Yeah," I said, breathing in the steamy air, "Isn't it great!" She looked at me, her eyes sparkling with the knowledge of her disobedience and relishing it, "We could get in big trouble." I enjoyed my little rebellion, too, and said sneakily, "I know, huh?" I then spotted a huge elephant skull nearby, larger than my Dad; and believe me, there weren't many things larger than my dad, at least when you're a foot high at the shoulder. She glanced at it and said curiously, "I wonder if its brains are still in there." Curiosity yet again overpowered my normal reasoning, and acting on impulse started moving towards the hollowed-out skull, "Only one way to find out. Come on, let's go and check it out!"

As we ran towards the mouth of the skull, an explosion of blue feathers appeared in front of me, accompanied by a squawk of, "Wrong!" We both jumped back in fright, landing on our backs with painful thuds. Right in front of me was, to my dismay, Zazu glaring sternly down at me. "The only 'checking out' out you will do will be to check out of here!" I glanced at Nala, disappointed, and said, "Aw, man!" Her face had gone from curious to guilty in a matter of seconds. Zazu tried to shepherd us back in the direction of the Pride lands, saying, "We're way beyond the boundary of the Pride Lands." I sniggered for some reason, glanced and Nala, and turned to taunt Zazu, "Simba: Huh. Look. Banana Beak is scared. Heh." Nala fought back a snigger of her own, while Zazu poked me in the nose again and said, "That's Mr. Banana Beak to you, fuzzy. And right now we are all in very real danger." I gave him a smug look and move back towards the mouth of the skull, and announced confidently, "Danger? Hah! I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger. Ha ha ha ha!"

Unfortunately, my laughter turned to fear and panic when I heard loud chuckling behind me. My courage broke, and I ran back (now not regretting it) and hid behind Zazu. From my vantage point over the bird's shoulder, I could see three ugly, drooling hyenas approaching with evil grins. The one on the right growled and said to the center hyena, "Well, well, well, Banzai. What have we got here?" The Hyena called Banzai licked his lips and said, "Hmm. I don't know, Shenzi. Uh... what do you think, Ed?" Ed, the one on the left, just laughed like a lunatic.

All three quickly started circling us, their ugly faces reflecting malice and hunger. Banzai chuckled and said, "Yeah, just what I was thinking. A trio of trespassers!" Zazu tried to hurry us away, looking nervous and terrified, "And quite by accident, let me assure you. A simple navigational error. Eh heh heh..." Zazu's nervous chuckling was interrupted by Shenzi moving closer to inspect him, saying, "Whoa, whoa, wait wait wait... I know you." She moved even closer to him, her nose was right above his beak, "You're Mufasa's little stooge." She said in realization. Zazu ruffled his feathers indignantly and made a passing attempt to regain his composure, "I, madam, am the king's majordomo." Banzai smiled cruelly, then glared at me, "And that would make you…"

"The future King." As soon as I said it, I wanted to bonk myself in the head with a stick. Shenzi glared at me threateningly and said, "Do you know what we do to kings who step out of their kingdom?" I tried, yet again, to appear brave. "Puh, you can't hurt me!" I said it, but I was thinking, _oh boy. They want to kill us! _Zazu looked at me with a look of intense worry and said, "Uhhh…actually they can. We're on their land."

"But Zazu," I said, confused, "I thought you said all hyenas were slobbering, mangy, stupid poachers?" Zazu grabbed me and whispered in my ear, "Ix-nay on the oopid-stay." Unfortunately, Banzai heard us and said, insulted, "Hey! Who are you calling 'oopid-stay?" Zazu looked even more flustered than ever, and tried to hurry us away, muttering excuses, "My, my, my. Look at the sun. It's time to go!" But then Shenzi advanced toward us and said cruelly, "What's the hurry? We'd love you to stick around for dinner!" Great, they were not only trying to kill us, they were trying to eat us! Banzai cackled and said, "Yeah, we can get whatever's 'lion' around!" While the hyenas indulged in spasmodic fits of near-maniacal laughter, Nala and I ran further into the valley in an attempt to get away.

After about five minutes, we arrived at a point at which we could no longer run. We stopped, panting, and Nala said, "You think we lost them?" I looked around; there was no sign of them. I breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I think so…" Then I noticed Zazu was not here either, "Nala, where's Zazu?" Then I saw the hyenas holding him over a nearby steam vent in the earth. Without thinking, I said, "Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" The three of them dropped Zazu and turned to face me. "You mean…like _you_?" said Shenzi, that evil grin plastered onto her face. "Oops!" I said in dismay, and ran with Nala. The three hyenas chased us into the elephant skull. Luckily, We were able to go through the hollow skull and ended up on the other side of a hillside of elephant bones. Then I heard Nala scream in terror, "Simba!" I spun around to see Nala struggling to climb up the bone-littered hillside, with Shenzi right behind her. For a few seconds, my fear abandoned me. All I thought of was saving Nala. I ran back and extended my claws. As Nala tried to go over the crest of the hill, I clawed Shenzi across the cheek. Blood blinded Shenzi for a few seconds, and Nala and I ran into a nearby cave. The good news; we were out of the open. The bad news; the hyenas had cornered us.

The trio of filthy hyenas advanced on us, backing us into the corner of the cave. My courage of half a minute ago was rapidly running out. Desperately, I stepped forward and tried to roar at them to scare them off. To my horror and total embarrassment, all that came out was a medium yowl. Banzai laughed and said, "Try it again, little kitty. Show us what you can do!" I tried again with all my might, and a heard a loud, rumbling roar. But it wasn't coming from me; in front of me had appeared a huge, male lion whom I recognized on sight. Dad was here to rescue us!


	4. Our little talk

The Three Hyenas cringed in terror in front of Dad, Dad's claws on Shenzi and Banzai's chest. Both of them were shaking, and going, "Ow. Ow. Ow. Please. All right, Uncle. "Silence!" roared Dad.

"All right, we'll shut up now."

"If you ever come near my son again…" Dad growled threateningly.

"Oh…this is your son?" said Shenzi, feigning surprise. "Did you know that, Banzai?"

"No... me? I-I-I didn't know it. No. Did you?"

"No! Of course not. Ed?"

Ed stupidly nodded yes, making Dad look half ready to claw them apart. The Hyenas slowly backed out of the cave, then ran with a shout of, "Toodles!" Zazu landed in front of Dad, but withered under the angry glare I knew was directed at me. Fearfully, I approached Dad, "Dad, I…" Dad growled and ordered sternly, "Let's go home."

As we walked towards the setting sun, myself and Nala miserable and ashamed, I heard one thing that brightened my day; Nala whispered to me, "I thought you were very brave." That bit of praise naturally cheered me up, but not for very long. Once we reached Pride Rock, Zazu took Nala home, and Dad called me up to the rock to talk to me. As I walked towards Dad, crouching as low as I possibly could, I stepped in one of his giant pawprints. It was in that moment that I harshly realized exactly how small and young I was, compared to Dad, and that it would take I while to be able to truly follow in his pawprints. I walked to Dad's side, too ashamed to look at him. Finally Dad spoke sternly, "Simba, I am very disappointed in you." If it was possible for me to shrink even lower, I did. I answered in a very small voice, "I know." Dad continued angrily, "You could have been killed. You deliberately disobeyed me. And what's worse, you put Nala in danger!"

It was the idea of Nala getting killed that caused me to go to the point of tears. I never wanted to be responsible for Nala being put in danger. I cared about her too much; I should never have let my best friend come with me. "Dad," I sniffed weakly, "I was just trying to be brave like you." At that, Dad's face softened a little bit. "Simba, I 'm only brave when I have to be. Being brave doesn't mean you go_ looking_ for trouble."

"But you're not scared of anything." At that, Dad turned around, looking very solemn.

"I was today." I cocked my head, disbelieving. What could my Dad possibly be scared of?

"You were?" I asked weakly. Dad looked down at me and said, "Yes. Today I was scared I might lose you."

"Oh," I said, lightening up slightly, "I guess even kings get scared, huh?" Dad looked down at me and lightly chuckled, "Mm-hmm."

"But you know what?" I whispered to Dad. Dad looked at me softly and said, "What?" My voice lowered conspiratorially, "I think the Hyenas were even scareder." At that, Dad gave a gentle chuckle, "That's 'cause nobody messes with your dad. Come here you." We played together for a few minutes, until we both ended up laying down, looking up at the stars. "Dad?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"We're pals, right?" Dad laughed a little again, "Right."

"And we'll always be together…right?" At this point Dad's face turned rather solemn again, and said, "Simba…look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from the stars." I looked up at the sky, awed by this revelation. If my ancestors were watching me, I knew I could be safe. "Really?" I asked. Dad looked me in the yes and said, "Yes... So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you ... And so will I."

We walked back to our cave, while I thought about what he had said. I was to be a king one day, so I needed to be able to take on the responsibility. As we laid down to sleep, the thought of the great kings of the past lulled me into a deep sleep.


	5. I like Nala?

The next morning, I awoke with a bad headache. I groaned, then stood up and looked around the cave. I headed towards Nala's spot and noticed something wrong; Nala wasn't there. All the older lionesses were still sleeping, not to mention Mom and Dad. But all the cubs, including Nala, were missing. I wracked my cub brains for a second, and then realized something; everyone was down at the water hole today. Without thinking, I headed out of the cave and walked towards the water hole under the glare of the rising sun.

Once I got there, my suspicions were confirmed. All the cubs: Ashanti, Rahi, Kuda, Mati, and Nala, were all at the water hole. But I knew there was something going on here, for I kept hearing laughing; not normal laughing, but jeering. Then I saw where Nala was; at the center of the watering hole, she was trying hard to swim to shore, while the cubs around her just yelled insults. "Hey look at this loser, she can't even swim!" taunted Rahi, the dark-coated, female cub who had been a close friend of mine until she started bullying Nala. Until now, only I knew Nala couldn't swim because she was terrified of water. As Nala successfully reached the shore, Ashanti, another female cub, pushed Nala backwards. Nala fell back into a puddle of mud, to the cruel amusement of the crowd around her. "Hey look, the little loser got muddy!" yelled Ashanti, pointing at Nala with one paw. The cubs around her started joining in on the taunting.

"The poor loser can't even keep her ugly coat clean!"

"Not that it wasn't even uglier in first place!"

"Yeah, why doesn't she run back to mommy?"

"I don't know how even her mommy could like her, she's such an ugly freak!"

My temper had reached its boiling point. I walked towards the circle of cubs and said, "Hey, what's going on here?" Nala was crying in the middle of the circle of cubs, her nice beige coat covered in mud. When she saw me, her grey-blue eyes reflected humiliation and shame to be seen by me this way. It was too much to bear. I sprang in front of her protectively and yelled at the other cubs, "Hey, leave her alone! What's Nala ever done to you?" The cubs rolled their eyes at me, as was common, and Rahi said, "Oh, have you come to protect this loser, _your highness_? Don't bother; she's not worth it."

"Yeah," said Mati, an aggressive male cub with a tuft of red on his tail, "Why are you hanging around her? I don't know why you'd want to be friends with this pathetic girl." I growled at Mati and said, "She's my best friend; that's why. And she's not ugly!" At this, Ashanti looked at me cruelly and said, "Look, Simba; you either stop being friends with this little crybaby, or we won't be friends with you. Understand?" I glared at Ashanti and said, "I don't need you or your friends if you're going to be mean to Nala. You're the losers!" With that, the cubs left us alone, glancing back at us with contempt.

I turned to Nala. She was still crying up a flood, and looked absolutely miserable. I put my paw on her shoulder to console her, "Nala, it's alright. Those bullies are gone." She wiped her face with her paws and looked up at me in shame. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that, Simba. But Rahi pushed me in the water. Now they all know I'm scared of water, and my coat is ugly!" My heart couldn't stand to see Nala in such a bad state, so I told her the truth. "Nala, they're just a bunch of losers. And I think your coat is pretty." As soon as I said it, I turned a hot shade of pink, and so did Nala. "I…uh…Thanks, Simba. You know, for…a…saying that. And for standing up for me." My heart was fluttering just so slightly, "No, uh, problem Nala. I was just...uh…" I blushed even brighter when I found myself staring into those blue-gray eyes, the color of storm clouds mixed with the color of the noon sky. I didn't know why; I was just wondering why I hadn't realized how pretty they were before. I said hastily, "Um… bye, Nala!" and rushed off to the cave, where I bumped into Mom.

"Well, Simba, how was your morning with Nala?" Mom looked down at me, that strange, knowing smile etched on her face again, and I realized she knew something. She must have seen how my face reddened when she mentioned Nala. "You know, Simba," she said casually, "that you and Nala are to be married one day?" My face turned red again, and I stammered, "Yeah, uh…Zazu told me." I didn't think of Nala that way; did I? Well she was kind of pretty, but she was my best friend. _But what does that have to do with anything?_ I asked myself. She could still be my best friend, even if I liked her for more than just a friend. Mom knew something was up, and she said knowingly, "You know, Nala is a bit attractive for her age. She has nice brown eyes."

"Blue-gray." I automatically corrected her, and blushed even redder when I did. "Awww," Mom said sweetly, "You must have looked into her eyes deeper than usual if you know that much. Do you, perhaps, like Nala?"

"I…um…I-I…" I couldn't hold it in much longer, "Well, I…kind of have a c-crush on Nala." I said weakly. Mom nodded, her suspicions finally confirmed. "Don't worry; this'll be our little secret. Now go back to her, Simba; it isn't very nice to run away." I nodded and turned around to see Ashanti standing in the entrance to the cave, smiling at me sweetly as if nothing had happened. "Hi, your highness." She said in a sugary tone, standing proud and tall. "What do you want, Ashanti?" I said angrily. She smiled at me again, rather kittenishly, and said, "You know…you could do better than Nala. You want friends; why would you want to go for second best?" What was wrong with her? She knew I was friends with Nala, and she had probably heard my conversation with my mother. I knew she had when she said, "I wonder why you like little Nala? She's not too attractive or smart. You could certainly do better, my prince." I understood that when she said _better_ she meant _herself._ For goodness sakes! The girl who had been bullying Nala was trying to flirt with _me_? "Back off, Ashanti." I said forcefully. She didn't look the slightest bit abashed, but immediately turned around and swaggered away. Good riddance. Once she was gone, I went back to the watering hole to find Nala.

When I arrived back at the watering hole, I came upon the sound of sobbing, again. This time I saw Nala curled up on the ground a few feet from the watering hole, weeping in shame. She had several bleeding scratches across her back, and looked humiliated. Then I saw Ashanti sitting on a stump behind her, looking down at her with complete derision. Mati and his friend, Kuda, had their claws extended and were standing on either side of Ashanti like bodyguards. Ashanti looked cruelly at Nala, not noticing me again, and said, "Now say it, Nala: you're a pathetic loser, and Simba would never like you." Nala cried even more, and choked out, "I'm a pathetic loser, and Simba would never like me!" Oh no. Ashanti didn't just…that horrible girl! I realized she had been flirting with me to make Nala jealous, and she had ordered her little henchmen to attack her to force Nala to disgrace herself. Now I knew I like Nala, because I wanted to knock that scornful look off of Ashanti's face.

Boiling mad for the second time today, I pounced at Ashanti, knocking her off the stump and into the tall grass. Mati and Kuda tried to pounce on me, but I swatted them back and moved in front of Nala, using myself as a living shield. "That's it, Ashanti. For the last time, you little fiends, _leave her alone_!" Ashanti and her accomplices froze and backed away. They knew I meant business. All three turned tail and ran back for Pride Rock.

Now that they were gone for sure, I slowly walked over to Nala, hoping she wasn't too hurt. The scratches were long, but not very deep, and covered her entire back and parts of her legs. I sat down by her, "Nala, are you okay?" She tried to get up, then groaned and fell back down again. "My back hurts really bad." She looked up at me, tears staining the beige fur of her face. "Why do you care for me, Simba? I'm such a pathetic loser!" I had never seen her so broken like this, and felt in my heart I had to help her. "Did Mati and Kuda do this to you?" I asked gently, already knowing the answer. She sniffled and said, "Ashanti told me that you liked her, and that I should just admit how pathetic I am. When I refused, she had Mati and Kuda claw me, and…man it hurts!" It was in that moment that I realized exactly how much I liked her. "Nala," I told her, "You're not ugly and you're not a pathetic loser." She waited expectantly for the final answer. I swallowed my courage and said, "And I do really like you, not _Ashanti_." Her face went blood red, and she grinned happily. "I-in f-fact," I stammered, "I think I…erm…might have a crush on you?" Her face turned from blood red to bright scarlet, while my own face went so red I felt like it was burning. She tried with all her will to get up, but then sank back down again. "Sorry, Simba," she said coyly, "But you're going to have to support me on the way back, I'm hurting so bad." I had a strange feeling she was just doing this to get me to hold her paw, but I didn't mind at all. I hauled her up gently up, surprisingly light for us being the same age, and we set off back towards Pride Rock, my arm under hers.

It took us till dusk with her resting on me all the time, but I had no regrets. We climbed up the rock and arrived at the entrance of the cave. My mom and Nala's mom were lying in a corner, both watching me intently. I looked at Nala, blushing pink again, and said, "I had a nice day with you, Nala." She just moved closer to me, her eyes sparkling, and said, "So did I." My heart hammering in my chest, my eyes spotted my Mom staring at me, mouthing _kiss her already!_ I gulped and, without thinking, gave Nala a kiss on the lips. Somehow, we ended up staying there for several seconds.

Was this bliss? I knew I liked Nala very, very much, but this kiss just felt so wonderful. And she was wonderful. After nearly half a minute, we broke apart, very, very red. We turned and saw my Mom and Nala's grinning mischievously at us. I laid down facing away from my mom's gaze, embarrassed. Then I noticed Nala, for the first time, laying down hardly a foot from me, gazing into my eyes adoringly. With that, being in the comfort provided by my more-than-a-friend there, I fell asleep, thinking of only one thing. _My Nala._


	6. Surprise

When dawn came, I opened my eyes to see a very attractive cub lying a foot away from me. Was I dreaming? Then it came back to me; Nala. If I remembered right, I had kissed her last night. The thought sent warm, fuzzy feelings down my spine. Then the rest of my memory came back to me when I saw the scratches.

Yesterday, Ashanti had tried to flirt with me to no avail. When I ignored her, she had humiliated Nala and made Mati and Kuda attack her. I had ran them off and brought Nala back, if I remembered right. Then my mom had pressed me on to kiss her, and…wow, Nala looked stunning in the dawning light! Was it just me, or could I hear both our hearts pounding? Wait…if her heart was pounding, she would have to be awake, which would mean that she knew I was staring at her right now.

My face turned pink, and I closed my eyes tight to try to fake sleep. A few second later, I heard scraping and heard a sweet voice in my ear, "Good morning, sleepyhead." I opened my eyes to see two very gorgeous blue-gray eyes barely a half-foot from my own. I fell backwards in surprise, accompanied by Nala's charming laughter. I sat up quickly and said, "Don't surprise me like that, Nala." _No matter how much I like it,_ I finished the sentence in my head. Nala smiled, and then suddenly took on an embarrassed expression. I guessed immediately that she was remembering the kiss, but it could have been something else. Then I thought of the confession I had made to my mom. In a brief spur of the moment, I looked straight at Nala and said, "Nala, I…uh…erm, have something to tell you." Our faces bypassed pink and went straight to red. Nala looked at me, and then looked down at her paws in embarrassment. "I…Simba, I, uh…think I might have something you too." My heart did a cartwheel before I looked down at my own paws.

I immediately assumed we were about to spill our feelings for each other. Right now, the idea of being betrothed to her didn't seem too bad. Then Mom came up behind us.

"Hello you little lovebirds," Mom said knowingly, "How does a walk to the water hole sound to you two?" I blinked, and then noticed Nala's mom on Mom's other side. "Yes," said Aunt Sarafina, "why don't you two take an early morning walk to the water hole together? It would do you some good, Nala."

"And you, Simba," said Mom, glancing at Aunt Sarafina conspiratorially again, "You should go down to the water hole with Nala. There's nothing better than fresh morning air to help her injuries, though Rafiki will be visiting her later." Without a word, Mom and Aunt Sarafina pushed us very close together, so that our paws were just inches away from each other's, "Well, what are you waiting for?" said Aunt Sarafina, "It's time for you two to go on your walk." Nala and I locked eyes, then headed down to the water hole, me still supporting her like last night.

When we arrived, we found Ashanti again, sitting on her stump like it was a throne. Mati and Kuda stood nearby, glancing at me warily. Nala and I ignored them, and went to get a drink from the water hole.

"Oh, look, it's Simba and his loser girlfriend!" said a voice that sounded a lot like Ashanti. Would that nasty girl ever give up? Apparently not, for she swaggered over to me, trying to charm me with her voice, "When you want someone better, I'm waiting." I growled at Ashanti, "Give it up, Ashanti. The way you've treated Nala, you would never be my friend or anything else."

Ashanti just gave me a kittenish look, and then directed her disdain at Nala. "You little crybaby; I would suggest you find someone else. Maybe a warthog or hyena; I can't think of anything else that would want to be with an ugly freak." Nala immediately started crying again, Ashanti's cruel words cutting her very deep.

I growled angrily and glared at Ashanti, "I thought you would have learned your lesson already. Leave my Nala alone." I flushed when I heard myself call her _my_ _Nala_, but I knew I felt about her that way.

Ashanti backed off, her scorn directed at me, "Have it your way, losers!" Once she had returned to her throne, I looked at Nala. She had stopped sobbing, and just looked at me in embarrassment,

"You don't think I'm an ugly freak?" Nala asked, waiting for the response. I could not hold it in any longer, and said calmly, "Nala, let me tell you something; whenever they tell you you're an ugly freak," I raised my voice loud enough for Ashanti to hear, "THEY ARE LYING!" I swallowed, and got up enough courage to sputter out the rest of my statement, "I actually think you're, erm… quite nice-looking." That was a feeble compliment, but it still got the message across. Ashanti and her friends looked away from us in contempt, promptly marching away.


	7. My Princess

**Authors Note: This is my first time doing an author's note. Sorry about leaving you hanging, folks, but school detracts from writing time. Advice for next chapter highly suggested. My advice to you: Read LoneWolf LUFC's "A Girls Claws." **

Once they disappeared, Nala looked up at me, her eyes asking for me to boost her damaged self-image. "Nala, I meant what I said. You're not ugly, and not a freak. You're certainly better than Ashanti anyway." We both flushed scarlet again, but I knew the words comforted her a lot.

In the brief span of time after my last compliment, an idea popped into my head. "Nala, have you ever seen the Ruby Caves before?" The Ruby Caves were just that; a long cavern I had discovered one day, with raw rubies everywhere in sight. I knew Nala loved crystals, and figured she would like to see the caves. Besides, the caves were hardly half a mile from the water hole, the entrance hidden by a small boulder. I couldn't think of a better way to cheer her up.

Nala shook her head, "I've never seen them before. What are they like?"

"Well, you'll soon find out, won't you?" I grinned playfully. As I was about to turn towards the direction of the caves, I spun back around again. Of course I needed to support Nala, since she was still injured. Without a word from her, I placed my right foreleg under her left and helped her along the grass-strewn path to the caves. When we arrived, I directed her to the cub-sized aperture at the side of a red boulder. I went in first then helped her in after me.

We soon found ourselves in a huge cave. Stalactites and Stalagmites jabbed down from the ceiling and thrust out of the cave floor, kind of like my dad's teeth. Rubies of all various shapes and sizes glittered all around. _Like Nala's eyes_, I thought to myself. Except hers were more sapphire than ruby in color, and dazzled more like small diamonds, and were more gorgeous than the most splendid gems I'd ever seen. They…

I stopped when I caught myself staring at her eyes fixedly, and then turned away, coughing in embarrassment. Luckily, she didn't notice; she was too busy staring in awe at all the rubies. I had wanted to impress her, and it worked wonderfully. And then I heard the thunder.

I couldn't believe my ears; half a second ago I was trying to impress Nala, next second it starts thundering outside. I _really _don't like thunder. I didn't know Nala's feelings on the matter, though. I walked up to the entrance to the cave, trying to see if it had started raining…

Bad move. Yes, it was raining. And lightning. And storming. Why couldn't it have rained at a better time? It was in the middle of summer in Pride Lands, for goodness sakes! Worse yet, I ended up getting doused just by poking my head out the little aperture. This whole thing was ruined.

When I turned around, I saw Nala, no longer awestruck, but laying in the middle of the dry cavern. I moved closer to her, and noticed her trembling silently. I moved even closer and realized she wasn't just trembling, but quivering in terror. Her beautiful eyes were squeezed shut, her ears flattened, her paws covering her face. I had never seen her so terrified, except maybe in water. I knew I had to comfort her, for I hated seeing Nala like that.

I lay down beside her and whispered in her ear, "Nala? Are you all right?" She started, then moved her paws from in front of her face. She lifted her head, blinking back tears, and sobbed, "I-I'm so s-s-sorry you had to see me like this, Simba! I-I…don't know what's come over me!"

It nearly broke my heart to see her sobbing like this, so (spurred on by my acute need to comfort her) I gently patted her on the back to reassure her everything was alright. Her sobbing lessened a little, and I said, "There's nothing wrong with being scared of storms, Nala. There's no need to be ashamed."

Nala stopped for a second, then started weeping anew, "I know why all the cubs hate me; it's because I'm nothing but a big crybaby!" I tried to get in a few words, but she continued to cry, "I'm a useless crybaby with too many fears, I'll never have as many friends as Ashanti or Rahi, and I don't even know why you're friends with me? You're the Prince of the Pride lands, and I'm just a lowly, pitiful loser who can't go more than two seconds without bursting into tears! I'M A LOSER!"

I felt as if my own heart was being painfully ripped out of my chest and tossed in away. This was what Ashanti and her friends had reduced this sweet girl to? They would _pay_! But before they did, I felt it was time to reveal the depth of my crush to her.

"Nala," I said, on the verge of tears myself, "You are the most woderful girl I have ever met! All the other girls are jealous of you; Ashanti and her crowd can only make themselves feel better about themselves by hurting you. We're best friends, which is all that matters to me!" I was so upset about this; I reached my front paws around her and hugged her, pouring out all my sympathy and care. She hugged me back, nearly squeezing my stomach out, but I didn't care. All that mattered was that I was with her, that I was able to make her forget about the thunderstorm outside.

We stayed in that warm embrace for the longest time, never wanting to let go. Finally I detached myself from her with a twinge of sadness, and then sank to the cave floor. As I started to move away, I heard Nala whisper, "Simba. Please, stay here!" She lay down next to me, just like the previous night. But this was tenderer, more pleasant. As we both closed our eyes, I finally told her, "Nala, I _really_ like you." Nala stifled a sniffle and whispered back, "Oh Simba, I really like you too." Our feelings for each other were obvious; We had a bit more than a mere crush on each other. What it was, we didn't know.

"Good night, my sweet prince," she whispered. I smiled to myself.

"Good night, my sweet princess." _My Princess, Nala._


	8. Jealousy

**Brasta Septim is back folks! Sorry it took me so long, but this is the last school day before Easter break. Anyway, sorry about the confusion in Simba/Nala confessing their feelings in chapters 5 and 7. Ch. 5 they know each have a crush on each other, Ch. 7 it's even deeper. (The depth of the crush is being revealed in Ch.7, not the crush itself) Thanks for pointing out my mistake, LoneWolf.**

I awoke the next morning to the sight of Nala. I knew (rather hoped) I wasn't dreaming this morning, either. We were _very_ close together, like me a half-foot from her close. I couldn't move without waking her up, nor did I want to. Then Nala opened her eyes.

Forgive me for staring too much, but I just got caught up in her eyes. Even in a dark cavern outside of Pride Rock they still glittered. We locked eyes, as if delving into each other's souls. Then she yawned, and sat up. "Good morning, sweet prince," she said cheerfully.

"Good morning, my princess," I replied with even more cheer. Then we both remembered we had hugged each other last night. We blushed fiercely, and moved away in embarrassment.

"Um, Nala, we have to go back to Pride Rock. Our parents are probably looking for us."

"Yeah," Nala nodded absentmindedly, "They probably are."

Without a word from her, we headed back towards Pride Rock, the dawn sun illuminating her like gold. As we walked side by side, I noticed little details about her I didn't before: the proud way she walked, the way she laughed, and most of all the way she sounded. She was perfect, and nothing could take that away from her.

When we arrived, we ran into Mom and Aunt Sarafina, grinning mischievously at us. "So, how was your _date_, you two?" said Aunt Sarafina, smiling broadly. Nala and I froze, and stammered out a few excuses,

"Uh, it wasn't a date, just a, um _intimate gathering_, right Nala?" I nudged her slightly,

"Uh, yeah, Simba's right. It was just an intimate gathering." Mom looked down at me, grinning even wider, "Well then, I'm sure you can tell me all about this intimate gathering, so I can allow one to happen again." Nala and I glanced at each other again. I thought another intimate gathering would be good for the both of us, and Nala's eyes told me the same thing. Apparently, Mom got the idea too. "Well you two, why don't you head up to the watering hole again? There's a beautiful sunrise this morning."

"Not as beautiful as Nala", I thought to myself. Or at least thought I thought to myself, until I saw Mom smiling and Nala going as red as the Ruby Caves. I knew that I had said that out loud and turned a shade of scarlet so hot I felt my face was on fire. I stared down at the ground as if it was the most fascinating thing I had ever seen.

"Simba?" I heard Nala's voice, barely a whisper. I slowly raised my eyes to find another pair, blue as the summer sky, dazzling as the night stars, and as warm as the summer sun, very close to my muzzle.

"I, uh…." I was speechless, and wasn't stupid enough to move. This sight had struck me dumb. I waited breathless for something to happen.

"You think I'm beautiful?" I nodded, unable to do anything but stare at her eyes. "Do you want to be…_my boyfriend_?" I about jumped out of my fur when I heard the words. I'll admit it; I was falling for Nala so hard I was lucky I hadn't slammed face-first into the ground. I fumbled for the words, then yelled them, "Yes, yes, yes!" With no regrets whatsoever, I hugged Nala close again. It lasted not more than a second before we broke apart again, going a hue of red I never imagined possible. Then I looked up at Mom, a bright smile etched on her face. "Well Simba, I would suggest another 'intimate gathering' right about now. Why don't you take a walk to the watering hole with your new girlfriend?"

"And why don't you take a walk with your new boyfriend?" said Aunt Sarafina. I looked at Nala; there was nothing to hide from her anymore.

The two of us walked side by side down to the watering hole. As usual Ashanti and her little followers were there, laughing amongst themselves. Then they saw us. "Hey Nala, I see you finally found someone just as ugly as you!" Their jeers were in vain, for we made it to the watering hole, blissfully ignoring the other cubs. "Where are you going, loser, with your loser girlfriend. To Loserville?"

I was so glad I could contradict them, because the insults were getting very feeble. I turned and looked Ashanti right in the eyes. "Actually, she is my girlfriend now. Isn't that right, Nala?" Nala was no longer embarrassed to admit it, and piped up, obliviously cheery, "Yes, I am. And Simba's my boyfriend." We shared a brief kiss in front of Ashanti, causing a comedic dropping of jaws.

"What? You two aren't seriously…but you and her…what?" I looked at Ashanti's expression and realized something. She wasn't just flabbergasted, she was _jealous_. But not sad-jealous like she'd made Nala be when she flirted with me, but _fuming_-jealous. Ashanti had obviously been trying to humiliate Nala for ages to steer me toward herself, but it hadn't worked. And now she was furious. Absolutely seething, livid, infuriated. She had spent a good amount of time trying to make me like _her_, and it had backfired. This was one teed off cub.

Now, with her eyes blazing and her claws extended, Ashanti swiped at Nala in fury. Nala yelped and jumped back as a claw missed her by an inch. The other cubs, Rahi, Kuda, and Mati, were just watching Ashanti's attack. Well, I wasn't going to!

As an ireful Ashanti hit Nala in the muzzle, causing a loud cry of pain, I jumped in between them.

"Ashanti, have you completely lost your mind? Stop attacking…OUCH!" The yell of pain was from me, since Ashanti had smacked me across the muzzle, too. This was going way too far. "Ashanti, why are you-"

"You know why!" shouted the angry Ashanti. "You picked _her_ as your girlfriend! _I'm_ more popular than this pathetic excuse of a girl could ever be, and yet you chose her? _You_ have lost your mind!" As she tried to claw Nala again, I tried the most desperate maneuver I had; I stepped on her tail.

"OW!" she yowled, and tried to move, to no avail. I turned round to face Ashanti.

"I chose Nala because she is nice, sweet, and kind. You on the other hand, are unpleasant, bitter, and cruel. Get the picture, Ashanti? That is why Nala's my girlfriend, not you. Now; _leave…us…alone._"Ashanti finally got the picture, and scuttled off to her friends, defeated. But I still saw the anger in her eyes. I had defended my Nala, but I now had an unyielding rival. This was not going to be good.


	9. Love will find a way

**The lovebirds are back, and love has struck them! Stay tuned. (Don't ask where I got the inspiration for this chapter from)**

Though the day's joy had been spoiled by Ashanti's jealousy, I still had Nala. Ashanti knew I liked Nala, and she was bitter because there was nothing she could do about it. How much I liked Nala was for me to figure out.

As Ashanti walked away, I looked at Nala; she had a bad scratch across her muzzle from where Ashanti had hit her. It didn't seem to be causing her much pain, but it was still a nasty scratch. Then I saw the look in Nala's eyes, realizing she wanted to talk to me about something. I walked a good distance from the waterhole, with Nala following. Then I heard the rumble of thunder, and saw storm clouds rolling in.

Once we both arrived at a shady spot underneath an acacia tree, I turned to see Nala sobbing deeply for no apparent reason. "Nala, what's wrong?"

She wiped at her eyes and choked, "T-thank you, S-Simba, f-for what you did and said back there!" Why was being thankful causing her to cry? I liked Nala, but she confused me at this point.

"I did it because I care about you, Nala. Why does that make you cry?"

"Because I'm afraid!"

"Of what?"

"Of Ashanti!"

"Why? I am protecting you from her. She will _never_ lay a paw on you if I can help it."

"It's not laying a paw on _me_ I'm worried about; it's of her hurting you! She now hates you. Don't you see? Her jealousy is what drove her to attack you! I worried she might hurt you again."

"She's not going to hurt me or you again, I'm sure!"

Nala gazed at me with sadness in her eyes. "There's no way to know. Except…"

"Except what?"

Nala sniffed and almost broke down, "Except leaving you. You're the only one that wants me here; Ashanti hates me, all the cubs do her bidding. I'm sure Ashanti will hurt you, and I just couldn't bear to see that happen!"

At that moment, it started raining. I gaped, astounded at Nala. She was worried about the same thing I had been worried about a few minutes ago; either of us being hurt. Seeing her being hurt was the equivalent of having my heart torn in two; obviously the feeling was mutual. But yet, I wasn't leaving, though I wasn't too popular now myself. Even if it were remotely possible for me to leave, I wouldn't; I would be leaving Nala unprotected. I would not abandon her, nor would I let her abandon me. "Nala, this is stupid; you leave, what's the point in trying to protect me from physical hurt? You will have caused a thousand times the pain Ashanti could ever do to me. You leave, Ashanti will have won, and our relationship would be for nothing. All the times I stood up for you, all the times I ran off Ashanti from humiliating you, would be in vain! Do you really want to do that over me getting a little bruised up?"

"I-I'm sorry, Simba, but as long as I'm here, Ashanti's jealousy will lash out at both of us. Nobody but you and my mother wants me here. Goodbye." Bursting into fresh tears to mix with the rain, Nala walked dejectedly away.

"Nala!" I yelled at her, my voice strangled by fear and desperation. "What would you rather want? Me a little roughed up and still with you? Or us separated, me in agony inside, and Ashanti trying to win me over every day with no way for you to stop it? You hear me Nala?" I raised my voice as loud as I possibly could; I was desperate. "DON'T ABANDON ME!" But she kept walking on with dogged determination, until she had almost disappeared amongst the flood of rain. Finally, I shouted her name, the name that had kept me in joy from the first day I heard it. "NAAAAALLLLAAAAA!"

At this point, Nala heard the pleading tone in my voice, and turned around. I swallowed and shouted the words I knew in my heart to be true. "I LOOOOOVVVVE YOOOOUUUU!"

The moment I said it, I felt as if an enormous weight I had never known was there was suddenly lifted off my shoulders. Nala had an expression of pure shock on her face, her jaw gaping. I knew I was wet and bedraggled, but I didn't care. I felt a force I had never felt before overpower me and send me running towards Nala. I stopped a few feet from her, looking at her calmly.

"W-What did you say?" she stammered in her state of emotional overload. I walked up to her, until we were almost muzzle to muzzle.

"I love you." I whispered, gazing into her beautiful eyes adoringly. Without a thought, I wrapped my forelegs around her, drew her close, and kissed her.

I didn't know what true paradise was until her lips struck mine. I could feel her heartbeat as my own threatened to crack my ribs. All worries, all cares, all the problems in the world seemed to go away. Lightning, thunder, rain didn't matter. This was happy oblivion, and we were happily oblivious to all around us. All that mattered was the girl in my arms. Everything around became grey and blurred by the rain, as it streamed down on us. All was blurred but her eyes. Those gorgeous eyes…

Eventually the kiss ended, unfortunately. As I slowly removed my arms around her, I saw the look in her eyes.

"You love me? I was about to abandon you, and you love me? I don't deserve to be with someone as wonderful as you!" And she began crying again, lying down on the ground with her paws over her face.

I walked up to her and pulled the paw away from her face. "Don't say that…please!" I begged, tears welling up my own eyes. I was already wet from the rain; I wasn't going to cry myself. She gazed up at me in shame, those two sapphires glinting through the sheets of rain. "Aren't you ashamed of me?"

"No." I said firmly. "I adore you."

**Well wasn't that chapter great? Stay tuned for more from Brasta Septim. TTFN!**


	10. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

**Now we're moving into canon TLK material, with a big twist. Don't kill me!**

We walked back to Pride Rock in the pouring rain, side by side, knowing we loved each other and drunk with happiness. To make things better, the rain stopped as we approached the gorge, allowing streams of sunlight to pierce the veil of clouds. The fell on and illuminated Nala, making her more beautiful than ever. I beamed lovingly at my Nala, and she beamed back. I saw someone I really didn't expect to see; Uncle Scar.

"Well, young Simba, how are you and little Nala? I've heard all about your little _intimate gatherings_ from Sarabi. How was your time together?"

I didn't really want to answer. He was my uncle, but his tone was not affectionately curious like my mom's, but oily and probing.

"Good. Why?" Uncle Scar thought for a second then said,

"Your father has a surprise for you, Simba. And Nala, Sarafina has a surprise for you, too."

"What's the surprise?" Uncle Scar just grinned strangely, and said,

"It's in the gorge. I can't tell you much." he said, pointing towards a tree in the middle of the gorge.

"They'll come get you and bring you your surprises as long as you wait by that tree right there."

I looked at Nala, seeing her dying to know what our surprises were. But we didn't want to ruin it, so we followed Uncle Scar down to the old broken tree. "Now stay here and don't move."

"How good is the surprise?" I asked, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Oh Simba, it's to _die_ for." I didn't know what he meant then, but I do now.

Anyway, he left us by the tree in the middle of the gorge, brimming with interest.

"So what do you think it is?" I asked Nala. She thought for a minute and said,

"I think they're planning to have Rafiki marry us." Not a short while ago, the idea would have been gross, but now it seemed quite the opposite.

"I certainly hope so." I said nuzzling Nala affectionately. That was the only it could be! Or so I stupidly thought. Until I heard the hammering.

It was at first faint, low enough to be mistaken for my own heartbeat. Then it grew louder and louder and louder every moment, like a thousand fists pounding the ground in unison. It felt as if the very earth we stood on was throbbing. I looked at Nala, surprised to see her looking absolutely terrified. Then I looked to see what she was staring at.

Hundreds of wildebeests thundered toward us, their hooves pummeling the ground underfoot. At that moment I felt very small and completely petrified. Then my natural instinct took over; I grabbed Nala and climbed up the tree to escape the wildebeests. I held her tight, making sure she wouldn't fall. We clung to each other and the tree as if our lives depended on it; which it did.

As the herd passed underneath us, I saw Zazu flying toward us.

"Zazu!" I yelled. "Help us!"

"Your father is on the way! Hold on!"

"Hurry!" Nala and I yelled at once, because my grip on the tree was slipping. We waited for what seemed like minutes, clasping that tree until our claws hurt. When I thought I couldn't hang on much longer, I looked up, and was relieved; Dad, Auntie Sarafina, and Uncle Scar were on a ledge overlooking the gorge, plainly visible.

"Hold on you two! We're coming!" Dad and Aunt Sarafina climbed down into the herd, frighteningly invisible for a few seconds. Then a wildebeest slammed into the tree, sending Nala and I into the air. We fell for a few seconds, until we landed on our parent's backs. Dad boldly dodged the wildebeests, and then set me down on a nearby rock ledge. Aunt Sarafina did the same with Nala. Our parents tried to jump up on the ledge to join us. But they were knocked over by wildebeests, and carried away in a swirl of dust.

"Dad!"

"Mom!"

We shouted in unison, terrified that our parents had been hurt. I waited a few seconds, searching for Dad. Then I looked up, and my eyes focused on a horrible sight; I saw my Aunt and Dad tumbling head-over-heels through the air, heading straight for the ground. Time seemed to stop except for them falling. They just kept plummeting lower and lower, until they slammed into the ground. We could do nothing but watch in horror as they fell in a cloud of dust among the raging stampede of wildebeests.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" We screamed, screaming in fear, disbelief, and anguish. We waited for the dust to clear. When it did, my heart was dashed into a million tiny pieces.

In the middle of the gorge lay my Dad and Aunt, lying on their sides. "Mom?" Nala said quietly, hoping for a response.

"Dad?" I said, hoping the same. Our parents were not moving. At all.

We approached our parents' bodies. I went over to Dad, hoping for some sign of breathing or movement. I nuzzled up against him, hoping for some response. His head just rolled limply back, still and lifeless. "Dad?" I asked, getting very panicky. "You got to get up. C-Come on, you have to move! Dad? Just wake up. You're all right, Dad. Please," I pleading, tears running down my cheeks, "Get up. Dad, you have to! You have to wake up!" Still he did not stir. I was beyond panicked; I was so tense any sound would have sent me running. "DAD! PLEASE, GET UP!" I ran up and down the gorge, shouting, "HELLLLLPPPP! PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME! I NEED HELP!" My grief-stricken implorations fell on deaf ears as an echo resounded throughout the gorge. I looked to see Nala sobbing over her mom, looking exactly like I felt. How could this happen? My Dad was the biggest, most powerful lion I knew! He had to move! He was just playing dead; he had to be! My Aunt had to be just playing, too. In a minute, they would jump up, healthy as ever. I knew it!

But they never stirred. In the harshest way possible, we were reminded of our own mortality. My Dad, my wonderful Dad, had been torn away from me swiftly and bitterly, so that we never saw it coming. And we were certain, no matter how much we denied it, that my Dad and my best friend's mother were totally, completely, irreversibly _dead_. It was too much to bear.

I looked to see Nala walking towards me, tears running down her face. "Simba? I-I think Mom's dead." It was final. In a wave of emotion, Nala and I embraced like we had never embraced before, holding each other close. We cried into each other's shoulders, letting out all the total anguish, grief, and shock we had experienced in tear form. If we hadn't been there to comfort each other, I would have surely died of a broken heart right then and there. As it was, the only thing keeping me from breaking down was Nala, the feeling mutual.

As we clung to each other in our sorrow, I saw Uncle Scar emerging from a cloud of dust, walking towards us looking extremely shocked. He looked at his brother's body, and that of my aunt, and said, "Simba, Nala….What have you done?" We jumped back, still sobbing. I wiped away some of the tears and said, choking the words out, "There were wildebeests and they tried to save us... "

"it was an accident," sobbed Nala, crouching down in sorrow."

"We didn't mean for it to happen," I wailed in bitter woe. Uncle Scar just approached us, regret written all over his face.

"Of course, of course you didn't. No one...ever means for these things to happen." He paused, giving us time to catch our breath between sobs. "But the king IS dead. And if it weren't for you two, he'd still be alive." I was absolutely crushed. How could it be our fault? Little by little, I began to believe in my own guilt, until I full believed we were the reason our parents were dead. Then Uncle Scar asked me the most heartrending words I had ever heard.

" Oh! What will your mother think, Simba? Her son the reason for her king being dead?"

He looked at Nala and said, "And what about you, Nala? How are you going to explain to Queen Sarabi that her best friend is dead?"

We were broken inside, and sniffled, "What are we gonna do?

"Run away, you two. Run... Run away and never return."

That's exactly what we did. We knew we were no longer welcome here and our parents were dead. Without turning back, we ran away from the gorge, not caring where, but as long as we got as far away from the Pride Lands as possible. We were now outcasts.


	11. Grief and Love

**Big cliffhanger last chapter! Stay for yet more plot twists and Simba's speech**

Nala and I ran away blindly, crushed and in tears with grief. We didn't care where we were going as we dodged thorn bushes, trees and brooks. We had just lost our parents, and were, to say the least, hysterical. We knew we had each other; but that seemed (forgive me, Nala!) a small comfort at the time.

We never stopped once, not for food or water. Over hill, desert, plain and savannah, we ran for hours until we could run no more. Eventually we found ourselves in the jungle, and collapsed in dehydration and exhaustion. I sank onto the leaf-strewn ground next to Nala, totally drained. My throat was burning, and my stomach was as empty as ever. I turned on my side to see Nala, coughing in thirst.

This was hopeless. We had no idea where we were, other than the vague label, "the jungle." Strange and frightening noises came from everywhere around us, which would have made me jump if wasn't so tired. Light was almost invisible, except for the dim rays that filtered through the dense jungle canopy. We had no food, no water, and no hope. I might as well have laid there to die.

But I couldn't, I thought as I looked at Nala. If I lost Nala, I would have absolutely nothing at all. We had to stay alive for each other if nothing else. Through sheer force of will, I pushed myself into a walking position and looked around; I couldn't see much, but I could hear running water nor far away. "Nala? You hear that?" I said, my voice cracking, parched. Her ears perked up, and she said wistfully, "I think it's water."

"So do I." I replied. "Nala, come on. We have to get to water." With a tremendous effort, she pushed herself up and walked shakily forward. I led the way to a small brook that wasn't very far away. We drank thirstily, the cool water feeling like the most refreshing thing I had ever drunk.

When we finished drinking, a sudden thought struck me. "Nala, how are we going to survive out here? We're cubs; we found water, but we have no food and…" My voice cracked at this point as I started feeling tears welling up again, "we can't go back."

Nala gave me a heartbroken look and said, "I-I don't know what we can do. I know how to hunt, but Mother didn't really get a chance to…" At this point Nala started crying like me. She laid her head on my shoulder, and we both began to sob deeply. We only had each other in our tragedy. Kings rise and fall, fathers die, and sons leave, but love endures undying.

As we sobbed for our parents, she raised her head, whispering into my ear, "Our grief and love are what keeps us together, Simba. No matter how sad the world seems, we have to stay together. For love." Immediately I broke away from her and said, incredulously, "Seems, Nala? No, it _is_ sad. Don't you see? Outside of Pride Rock, outside of our Pride Lands, the world is utterly wretched. I thought no power above would allow what happened to happen.

"It gave me a harsh lesson; when my father died, I knew, no, I _know_ true anguish! Don't you understand? I lost my father; you lost your mother, your _only _parent because of me. I thought the world was a kinder place." I turned around and stared at my reflection in the water.

"I was piteously wrong." I swiped my paw across the water, dissipating my reflection. I howled in grief, then spun around to face Nala. "You see, don't you? All these sighs, these tears, these wails; they are but outward signs of grief. You know as well as I that grief is interior as well as exterior. It gnaws at your heart and mine, as if we were raked with a hyena's claws. But it hasn't stopped. I don't think it will stop. I feel my grief, my guilt, my agony, my _angst_, with perfect and horrible clarity."

Nala was gazing at me, feeling my sorrow with her own. I looked at her sadly, and continued. "My guilt and angst is burning my heart. If I hadn't chosen to bring you with me into the gorge, your mom would still be alive. If I hadn't been in the gorge, my father would still be alive. It is my _choices_, my utterly stupid and reckless choices that have left us where we are now. This is _my_ fault, _my_ fault, my most grievous fault." I sank down in front of Nala, fully broken inside. My blame, my guilt, had undone me. And I wept in pure sorrow.

After a brief span of time, I heard a soft whisper, "Simba? You're not the only one to blame. I share the guilt for my mom's death as much as you for your father. Besides, what could we do?"

I looked up from my abyss of desolation and said pitifully, "No. I could have stopped it. Besides, now my uncle is going to be king. All I can do is bear the crushing burden of my guilt." I bowed my head in woe.

"No!" shrieked Nala, a fire in her eyes I had never seen before. "Simba, don't you understand? I grieve for my mother and your father, but that doesn't stop me from remembering something that can overcome all that."

"What?"

"That I love you, and you love me. You have to live, to take back the throne from your uncle when we get older. I don't want to lose you! If you keep blaming yourself for everything, at least know that the burden of the mistake is ours, not yours alone. It isn't your fault, but our fault. Besides, our grief is what will brings us closer together. What doesn't tear us asunder will only strengthen us. You have to go on for your father, for the Pride Lands, for yourself…and for _me_." She walked over to me, and brought me into a close hug. Now there were no words between us, just our tears on the other's shoulder. We cried ourselves to sleep in each other's warm embrace, bound together by grief…and _love_.


	12. The Madness of King Scar

**Big scene here! It got most of this from the scene from TLK Broadway, but it's still good.**

After a week of living in the jungle, we had found food. It was fruit, not meat, but it still kept us alive . I knew I had Nala, but I was still uneasy about our chance of survival out there. As I went to sleep that night…well, it wasn't the best of nights.

_I found myself on the promontory of Pride Rock, staring down at the Pridelands. Except it was not the area I remembered; it was now a gray, barren wasteland. No herds were in sight. Instead, to my horror, hyenas roamed freely across the land next to lionesses bringing in carcasses. It seemed all the hyenas from the Graveyard had been moved, against my great-grandfather's law. Who would allow this travesty to happen?_

_Then I looked and saw my Uncle standing next to me, ignoring me as if I were invisible. He had a haughty sneer on his face as he looked around, obviously regarding the situation with distaste. Well, I should think so! Then I noticed two of the hyenas from the Graveyard; Shenzi and Banzai. Both were looking down at the scene below, and Shenzi looked up at Scar, "How the heck did this happen? Your Pridelands are supposed to never look this bad. As matriarch, I have my clan to look after. How am I supposed to that if the entire region that was paradise last week looks like this today?"_

"_Yeah, and where are all the herds?" said Banzai, looking hungry. "How-"_

"_Silence, you insolent dolt!" snarled my uncle at the hyenas. "I don't know what's going wrong. But don't worry; I have it all under control."_

"_Yeah, but It's dinnertime and we don't got no stinking entrées!" whined the hyenas. Uncle Scar glared at them in contempt, his eyes flashing in annoyance. "Oh, you and your petty complaints. You don't know what true hunger is until it gnaws at the very core of your being."_

"_Yeah, I had that once." Said Banzai, scratching his ear. "It was worms." Uncle Scar gave the hyena his trademark look of scornful disgust before using his harshest tone, "Thanks for the tip. Ingrates! If it weren't for me you'd be beating off buzzards for your next bite!" _

"_Yea, we know you're our savior. But how about some lunch? It doesn't matter if it's fresh. We need a fix of flesh."_

"_My bones have moved to where they've never been." piped up Banzai._

"_They are on the outside looking in." said Shenzi, looking pleadingly up at Scar. My Uncle just started pacing up and down the promontory, obviously in a sour mood. "Are you blaming me?" he growled._

"_Oh no, it's the lionesses." Said the two hyenas. Uncle just walked back into the royal cave, and began to bang his head against the stone wall for some reason. "How did Mufasa do this ruling thing in the first place? Wait a minute…" He turned back to the hyenas, "Fetch Zazu. I request his meager assistance." The two exchanged a look and ran off to one of the lower caves._

_My uncle lay down on the top of the promontory and waited for Zazu. When he flew in, his feathers ruffled, Uncle asked him an immediate question, soft and direct, "Zazu, why am I not loved? I am that rare and awesome thing; I'm every inch a king. Yet I feel a twinge of doubt as I go walk about." Zazu was surprised and slightly taken aback by the question. "Well, sire, the memory of King Mufasa is still in the pride's hearts, and-"_

"_Mufasa!" My Uncle growled, looking more livid then I'd ever seen him. "I told you never to mention his name!" Zazu gulped and said nervously, "Point taken. I will never mention __**him**__ again." As Zazu moved off to the side, unsure of what to do or say next, I saw a look of panic cross my Uncle's face. He got up, terrified, and looked wildly around as if searching for an invisible demon. "Look,_ _Even in death, his shadow looms over me. There he is! No! There he is! And there!" As intimidating as he was, my uncle looked, for the first time, completely paranoid. _

"_Calm yourself, sire, or you'll get one of your splitting headaches!" My uncle did not calm down but instead took on a look of excited smugness. "I am perfectly fine! I'm better than Mufasa was. I'm revered!" Immediately his face switched to bitter woe. "I am reviled!" His face and manner switched back again. "I'm idolized!" Scar continued this rather scary routine for the next several minutes, praising and cursing himself at the same time. Until finally his behavior culminated in a jaw-dropping and scary confirmation of his apparent bipolar personality. "I tell myself I'm fine."_

"_Yes I am."_

" _No you're not"_

"_Yes I am."_

"_I tell myself I'm fine."_

"_Yes, no, yes, no. " Immediately my Uncle stopped in mid-rant and blinked, confused. "Who am I talking to...?" From this, I could tell my dear uncle Scar had, to put it bluntly, gone completely daft. Zazu noticed it, too, because eventually he yelled, "Sire, get a grip on yourself!" My uncle's head snapped up and he said, "Whatever." Then his face was gloomy again." Oh, very well. Zazu? Zazu, Zazu, Zazu...?"_

"_Yes, Sire?" said Zazu._

"_Nobody loved me, there's the rub, not even as a cub_

_What did my brother have that I don't have?" _

"_Do you want the short list or the long?" said Zazu rather cheekily._

"_Whatever!" my Uncle said with an impatient gesture._

"_Well, he had adoring subjects... a loving family... a devoted queen..." Zazu began._

_A light popped on in my mad uncle's eyes. "That's it! I need a queen!"_

"_A what?" said Zazu incredulously._

"_A queen, man! A queen! Without a queen, what am I? A dead end, no line, no_

_descendants, no future. With a queen, I'll have cubs... Immortality will be mine!"_

_Unfortunately, at that moment I saw my mother come into the royal cave, obviously bearing bad news. But my Uncle just raised his eyebrows and gave her a look I did not yet understand._

"_Ah, Sarabi... Your timing couldn't have been more perfect. You have gotten over the death of your husband well." He said in a very honeyed tone._

_Mom wasn't in the mood to put up with my Uncle, so she told him bluntly. "Scar, you have got to do something. We're being forced to overhunt." At this point, my uncle starting slowly circling my mother, his eyes scrutinizing her. I was struck by a horrible suspicion at this moment; he wanted to make my mother his queen! I was boiling mad, I was infuriated, I was frankly disgusted by the sliminess of my mad uncle. _

"_She's got those assets feminine." He said under his breath. This was going way out of hand. My uncle obviously didn't love my mother like I loved Nala. The evil snake just wanted to use her for his own ends. "You're the king. Control the hyenas!" my mother protested. _

"_I have to make her mine." he muttered to himself. Not only was my uncle apparently lazy and bipolar; he now was envious and greedy, too._

"_You're destroying the Pridelands!" my mother protested, her frustration showing. I was glad my mother was standing against my uncle in this. But my uncle gave no notice and continued his mutterings to himself. My mother pleaded with him while he did his mad rambling. "If we don't stop now.. Don't you see..."_

"_She has to be my queen."_

"_...there's still a chance for things to be all right again..." At this my uncle got a little too close to my mother, and said quietly. "Come, sweet Sarabi. We are written in the stars." At this point my mother's jaw dropped and she said, angrily, "What the heck are you doing? Are you even listening to me? What on earth are you talking about?" Scar gave her a sneaky, commanding look and said, "Tell me I'm adored." _

_My mom had realization written all over her face, and stepped back a few paces. "Get away from me, Scar!" _

"_Tell me I'm adored!" my mad uncle practically shouted. Mom raised her claws and swiped him across the face, causing him to recoil. Then he gave her a look of mock disappointment. "Oh, Sarabi…you know how I __**loathe**__ violence. One way or another you __**will**__ be my queen." _

_Mom just glared at him, then spat, "Never, Scar. Never." _

_At this point my mother ran from Pride Rock, never looking back. _


	13. Shadowland

**Now we can figure out last chapter! Somebody was having a bad premonition**

I awoke, panting and sweating. I looked around, expecting to see my uncle nearby. But there was no living thing in sight but Nala. I sighed in relief. Just as I was about to go back to sleep, I heard Nala say. "Bad dream?" I nodded, not wanting to disclose the details. Then she brought up a subject I didn't expect.

"Simba, we have to at least see the Pride Lands again. I had a bad dream myself; and it wasn't good at all." I nodded and said. "What was it?" She looked at me deeply, her eyes glistening with tears.

"I saw our home; devastated, ravaged by drought and famine, overrun with hyenas and barren as a desert." My ears perked up; that was exactly what I had seen before the main part of my dream. "And before you say anything, I _know_ this dream is real. Since you can't retake the throne till you're older, I know that is exactly what our home will end up as. Your uncle never struck me as the type to be a good manager. But what I saw was worse; he had reduced our Pridelands, your kingdom, from fertile and brimming with life to a desiccated wasteland choked with ash. When the time comes, you** need **to take your place as king, or I fear our home will be ruined."

It wasn't a suggestion, but I brushed it away. I was still recovering from the shock and fear of my own dream/premonition, which was looking more and more real. "Nala, go back to sleep." I mumbled as I lay back down to sleep.

After a while of lying there, brooding on my own dream, I heard a faint singing, soft and melancholy. I opened my eyes to see Nala staring longingly off to the distance, towards our kingdom. A single tear ran down her cheek. I knew what she was weeping for; our soon-to-be ruined homeland. I didn't want her to stop since she sang so sweetly. I stayed silent and caught all the words as she sang.

"Shadowland

The leaves have fallen

This shadowed land

This was our home

The river's dry

The ground has broken

So I must go

Now I must go

And where the journey may lead me

Let your prayers be my guide

I cannot stay here, my family

But I'll remember my pride

Prideland

My land

Tear-stained

Dry land

Take this

With you

And where the journey may lead you

Let this prayer be your guide

Though it may take you so far away

Always remember your pride

And where the journey may lead you

Let this prayer be your guide

Though it may take you so far away

Always remember your pride

Always remember your pride."

When she finished her woeful lament, she lay down next to me and whispered in my ear.

"One day, we will return, won't we?" I nodded and said to my poor, bitterly homesick Nala.

"We will return."


	14. Can you feel the love tonight?

**Now Simba and Nala are growing up! Just wait a bit longer for someone else to arrive**

I saw five summers and winters with Nala. I had grown into a huge lion, the spitting image of my father, and Nala had grown into a very stunning lioness. Every day we would prepare for me to return to the pride. I was getting more and more dubious about going back, but it was Nala's only wish; to bring me back and restore the Pridelands. We lived off of fruit for the better part of those years, but stopped when Nala and I could hunt. We loved each other more than ever. But my grief and fear that my guilt would be revealed made me nervous about returning.

On one early summer day, Nala and I were out stalking an antelope that had wandered into the jungle. Nala crouched down to the right of the animal, a few feet away. I was slightly behind it, ready to pounce. Just as we were about to spring, we heard a loud growl from not very far away. The antelope dashed off, startled, just in time for an older lioness to jump exactly where the animal had been standing seconds before. We backed away from the obviously hungry lioness. Then I saw her face; it looked very familiar.

Then it dawned on me; this was my mother. "Mom?" I said quietly. She looked stunned, then blinked in confusion.

"Mufasa?" I shook my head and said happily, "No, it's Simba. And I'm here with Nala." At this point all of my mother's confusion went away, and she hugged me tightly.

"Oh Simba, you're back! How did you…it's wonderful to see you again!" I looked at Nala before looking back at my mother. Mom cheerfully continued, "Wait till everybody finds out you've been here all this time!" I looked away; the last thing I wanted was people knowing my guilty secret.

"They don't have to know. Nobody has to know." I said sadly. Mom and Nala's jaws dropped, and Mom said, surprised, "Well, of course they do. Everyone thinks you're dead." Now it was my turn to look confused.

"They do?" Mom nodded and said. "Yeah. Scar told us about the stampede." At this point I began to get very anxious. "Really?" I asked. "What else did he tell you?"

"What else matters? You're alive. And that means...you're the king." Now I was really starting to panic. My doubt and lack of confidence over being king, combined with my guilt made me say the next few words I regret now.

"No, I'm not the king. Maybe I was gonna be, but...that was a long time ago." My mother looked shocked, so Nala walked over to me and said to her. "Could you... excuse us for a few minutes?" Mom looked slightly pained, but moved away to let us speak. I was wondering what she wanted to say. Then she shook her head and said quietly, "It's like you're back from the dead to her. You don't know how much this will mean to everyone. What it means to your mom… and what it means to _me_." I raised an eyebrow and said, "What do you mean? I've been with you for the past five years, my love." Then I saw the hopeful look in her eyes as she said, "I've spent five years with Simba, my boyfriend; but now I think the world is ready to see Simba, my king. This is what I've waited for him long enough." She nuzzled me affectionately. There was a moment of silence, and then she walked away towards a waterfall. I followed her to a ledge, until she turned around and gazed at me adoringly. "Can you feel the love tonight? The peace the evening brings? The world, for once, in perfect harmony with all its living things?" she sang out, her pretty voice made richer by five years. We both jumped down to get a drink of water. I didn't want to be king that much right now, but I loved Nala. I just didn't know how to tell her about my doubts.

All the while I thought _So many things to tell her, but how to make her see? She knows the truth about my past, and would turn away from me. _She saw the look on my face, and her eyes widened for a second. She knew I was holding back, hiding my doubts. She was guilty about her role in her mother's death, but it had never damaged her confidence. I know her main goal in life was to bring me back to rule. _She's always been the stronger of us,_ I thought fondly. Then a sudden idea came to me when I saw a vine nearby. Nala had always made me feel like a cub again, so I wanted to return the favor. With a sly look in my eye, I jumped on the vine and swung towards her. She ducked, and I unfortunately fell into the water with a loud splash. I could see her looking worriedly into the water. With a playful lunge, I broke the surface and pulled her in. A few seconds later, she broke the surface, drenched and annoyed. When I tried to come out, she pushed me back in.

We ended up tussling like we did when we were younger, finally tumbling down a hill and landing right next to each other. I looked at Nala fondly, but as I tried to get up I gazed into her sapphire orbs. She gave me a kittenish smile while we looked into each other's eyes with devotion. I smiled as she got up and nuzzled me. "Can you feel the love tonight?" I found myself singing. "You needn't look too far."

"Stealing through the night's uncertainties- Love is where we are." Finished Nala. If anything, my mother's reappearance had certainly made Nala and I feel the love tonight, our love rekindled after years of us training for me to be king. I would put aside all my doubts and worries, for now, just to be with Nala.

"And can you feel the love tonight?

It is where we are." Sang Nala.

"It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer

That we got this far." I replied happily.

"And can you feel the love tonight?

How it's laid to rest?

It's enough to make kings and vagabonds

Believe the very best." She finished our spur-of-the moment song and said to me softly. "Can you feel the love tonight?" Yes, I certainly could.


	15. Refusal

**This is not my favorite scene in the movie; but it works better with Sarabi**

We walked back to my mother together. When we found her, she looked like something was bothering her. "What's wrong?" I asked. My mother looked at me and said,

"I don't understand something. You've been alive all this time. Why didn't you come back to Pride Rock?" I exchanged a look with Nala, and got into a hammock of hanging vines. I just needed to... get out on my own. Live my life with Nala. And I did. And it's great." Nala shot me a look of,_ we have to go back._ My mother said softly, her voice barely under control. "We've really needed you at home."

"Nobody needs me." I said quietly. As much as Nala and I had prepared over the years, the idea of returning was terrifying for me. My guilty secret would almost certainly be revealed. But Nala surprised me when she glared at me, saying, "Yes, we do! You're the king."

I sighed. "Nala, we've been through this. I'm not the king. Scar is."

"No!" she yelled. "You promised me we would return and that you would take the throne back! Why won't you now?" At this point I looked at Nala, mouthing, _our roles in our parents' deaths. _Nala went pale, but still undaunted. Then my mom said in a deathly quiet voice, "Simba, he let the hyenas take over the Pride Lands."

"What?" Nala and I yelled in shock.

"Everything's destroyed. There's no food. No water. Simba, if you don't do something soon, everyone will starve." At this point, Nala looked at me, pain in her eyes. This was exactly what she had feared since her premonition five years ago. But I, stupid as I was, was so worried my mother and everyone else would find out it was my fault Dad was dead, and Nala's that Sarafina was dead. However, it seemed to me that Nala was more worried about the Pridelands than that shared secret.

"I can't go back." I sated simply.

"Why?" My mother said, frustrated.

"You wouldn't understand." When I had said that, I turned to see Nala looking at me in pity, her eyes red with tears.

"What wouldn't _I_ understand?" she said in a very soft voice, as if holding back tears. I took a few steps back and said hastily, "No, no, no. It doesn't matter." Before my mother could reply, Nala shouted, her eyes getting wetter by the minute, "Yes, it does matter Simba! I haven't spent five long years away from my home to watch the one I love do nothing while it's destroyed. Have you no shame?" I sighed and began to say, "Look, sometimes bad things happen…"

"Simba!" my mother and girlfriend shouted angrily.

"…And there's nothing you can do about it." Now, Nala grabbed me and pulled me aside, out of earshot of my mom. She looked at me, upset, and hissed in my ear, "Simba, you're a hypocrite! There was nothing either of us could have done to save our parents, and yet you're still beating yourself up about it!" I was stung by her words, and replied in irritation, "Yes, but just because _you_ take it that way doesn't mean everyone else will! I've been terrified this entire conversation that my mother will find out it was her son that killed her husband!"

"Simba, we may have some fault in our parents' deaths, but they were accidents. This is more important than guilt over an accident!"

"Then you're going to tell me you don't feel guilty your mother is dead?"

"Of course I feel guilty! I just don't worry about it when there's something much more important at stake! Simba, are you a lamb or a lion? You have to do this!"

"Why?"

"Because it's your responsibility!" She shouted, tears streaming down her face. At this point she dragged me back towards my mother. "Sarabi! Could you please knock some sense into your son?" Mom just looked at me, sad. "Simba, it is your responsibility to take over from your father! That is what you were born and raised for! You are turning your back on your family and duty!"

"What about you? You left!" Then my own premonition from all those years ago came back to me, and I turned pale as I remembered exactly why she had left. As it was, my mother was getting more and more irate.

"Simba, I left for two reasons. One was to find help; and I found YOU. You're our only hope." Then her voice got even fiercer as she shouted, "The second reason? Your vulgar swine of an uncle tried to make me his queen. I rejected him and left, rather than have to deal with the unspeakable idea of being his queen." I was shocked that the premonition I had had was real, but I stubbornly refused to say anything good. God knows I regret it now.

"Listen, you think you can just show up and tell me how to live my life, Mom? I'm not a cub anymore. You don't even know what I've been through!" Before Mom could utter a rejoinder, Nala jumped in front of me in tears. "She doesn't, but I do! And your mistakes are no reason not to try to fix your uncle's! You tell your own mother you're not a cub anymore, but you're certainly acting like it!" I recoiled from her words, but then said harshly. "Sorry." Both my mom and Nala looked at me in shock.

"What's happened to you? You're not the son I remember."

"Nor the lion I remember falling in love with." Said Nala. I looked at the two lionesses and just said in exasperation. "You're right. I'm not. Now are you satisfied?"

"No." said my mother. "Just disappointed." The idea of my mother being disappointed in me would have normally brought me to beg her forgiveness, but something harsh inside me made me say. "You know, you two are starting to sound like my father." I began to walk away. "Good! At least two of us do!" shouted Nala. Those words stung me the most. Spurred on by grief, I ran into the jungle, as far away from them as possible.


	16. Decisions

**Now this is gonna get good here! I know last scene made u hate Simba, but this will make it better!**

I left the two of them in anger that night, ending up pacing in a field, muttering to myself. "She's wrong. I can't go back. What would it prove anyway? It won't change anything. You can't change the past." I looked up at the stars, remembering the story my dad had told me years ago about the great kings of the past. If they were there, they certainly weren't giving me any help. I yelled angrily at the sky, hoping Dad would hear, if he was even there. "You said you'd always be there for me! But you're not. And it's because of me. It's my fault. It's my fault." I bowed my head, choking back tears. This was hopeless! I had my girlfriend and my mom angry at me, now here I was yelling at stars! Was I losing it?

Then, out of the blue, I heard a low, repetitive chant coming from nearby.

"Asante sana!

Squash banana!

We we nugu!

Mi mi apana!"

I looked, annoyed, to see a weird little baboon in a tree, holding a staff and chanting the gibberish. I quickly moved a good distance away, lying down on a log over a small pool of water. I turned my head when I heard the stupid chant again, seeing the baboon jumping around in a nearby tree. "Come on, will you cut it out?" I said, annoyed. The baboon just laughed and said, "Can't cut it out. It'll grow right back!" Now I knew this baboon was crazy. I started walking away, only to find the baboon following me. I turned around in frustration to say, "Creepy little monkey. Will you stop following me? Who are you?" The monkey sat down right in front of me and said mysteriously, "The question is: Whooo... are you?" I was startled by the question, and then sighed. I barely knew myself, I realized.

"I thought I knew. Now I'm not so sure." The creepy baboon just looked at me and said, "Well, I know who you are. Come here. It's a secret." He pulled my head over to whisper in my ear, then started that stupid chant again. Okay, that bit of gibberish was getting on my nerves.

"Enough already. What's that supposed to mean, anyway?" The baboon just laughed and said, "It means you are a baboon- and I'm not." Yeah, I started backing away at this point. This baboon was definitely crazy.

"I think... you're a little confused." The baboon just followed me again.

"Wrong. I'm not the one who's confused; you don't even know who you are." Wow, this monkey was really touching a nerve here. I was irritated, and summoned up as much sarcasm as possible.

"Oh, and I suppose _you_ know?"

"Sure I do; you're Mufasa's boy." When I heard that, I nearly jumped out of my fur in surprise. But when I turned to ask the baboon more, he just ran off chanting,

"We sangoma ngivelelwe

We baba ngivelelwe

We baba ngivelelwe."

"Hey, wait!" I said, chasing after him. Even if he was crazy, he was giving me answers. I caught up to him in a meditative position on a rock. "You knew my father?" I asked.

"Correction- I know your father." Know I knew this baboon was very confused.

"I hate to tell you this, but... he died. A long time ago." I expected the baboon to gasp in shock, but he just jumped off the rock and ran into the jungle, yelling, "Nope. Wrong again! Ha ha hah! He's alive! And I'll show him to you. You follow old Rafiki, he knows the way. Come on!" Rafiki; apparently that was his name. I tried to keep up with Rafiki best I could, while he ran, shouting, "Don't dawdle! Hurry up!" I kept running after him through the jungle until I heard "STOP!" I halted behind the baboon, wondering exactly what it was he was trying to show me. He pointed past some nearby reeds and said, "Look down there." I walked past them and looked down into a pool of water, very surprised. I saw what looked remarkably like my father for a second there. I was very startled to see this, but then I realized it was my own reflection. I shook my head and said sadly, "That's not my father. That's just my reflection." I sighed in disappointment. Then Rafiki piped up, "No. Look harder." I did, and what I saw astonished me more than anything. The reflection in the pool had turned into my father's face. I looked up in surprise at Rafiki. He opened his mouth, and instead of telling me what was happening started chanting,

"Ingonyama nengw' enamabala

Night

And the spirit of life

Calling

Oh, oh, iyo

Mamela

Oh, oh, iyo

And a voice

With the fear of a child

Answers

Oh, oh, iyo

Oh, mamela

Oh, oh, iyo

Ubukhosi bo khokho

We ndodana ye sizwe sonke "

I was about to move away from Rafiki and his meaningless chanting, but he put his hand out and sang,

"Wait!

There's no mountain too great

Hear the words and have faith

Have faith

Hela hey mamela

He lives in you

He lives in me

He watches over

Everything we see

Into the water

Into the truth

In your reflection

He lives in you"

When he had finished, he said quietly, "Don't you see? He lives in _you_." I was completely awestruck. Seconds later, the wind picked up, blowing through my mane. I looked up at the clouds; there, against the night sky, was a ghostly image of my father in the clouds. At first I thought it was just an illusion of some kind. Then I heard my father's voice.

"Simba…"

"Father?" I said, absolutely astonished. My father really had been watching over me all these years. But the next few words he said stung me badly.

"Simba, you have forgotten me."

"No!" I protested. "How could I?" His voice rumbled and said, "You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life." I knew my responsibility as king, but I never realized until now that I was neglecting my father's memory by refusing to fulfill them.

"How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be." The clouds swirled around, allowing the image of my father to glow in the moonlight.

"Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king." I knew it in my heart. I had to go back to take back my kingdom. I had hurt my mother and Nala, so I had to return. The image of my father starting fading away, to my astonishment. "Wait!" I yelled. "Don't leave me."

"Remember." My father's ghostly image faded into mere cloud again. I kept staring up at the clouds, until I saw Rafiki pop into sight again.

"What was THAT? The weather- Very peculiar. Don't you think?"

"Yeah." I said, looking up to where my father's image had been. "Looks like the winds are changing."

"Ahhh." Said the baboon knowingly. "Change is good."

"Yes." I said quietly. "But it's not easy. I know what I have to do. But, going back means I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long." Rafiki nodded, and then whacked me in the head with his staff. "Ow! Jeez- What was that for?"

"It doesn't matter; it's in the past!" he laughed.

"Yeah, but it still hurts." I said, rubbing my now throbbing head. Rafiki just smiled and said, "Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it." This time I expected him to try to whack me again, so I ducked just as his staff went whistling over my head. "Hah! You see? Hah, you see! So what are you going to do?" I walked towards him smiling, "Well, first I'm gonna take your staff." I said, wrenching out of his grip and holding it above my head. I tossed it to the side as Rafiki yelled, "No, no, no, no! Not the stick!" While he picked up his staff, I made a snap decision to go back to Nala and Mom, running back into the jungle to find them. "Hey, where are you going?" shouted Rafiki.

With more determination than I'd ever summoned before I, shouted back, "I'm going back!"


	17. Preparations for the Journey

**Short Chap, I know. Just keep reading!**

I ran straight back through the jungle, stopping when I saw Nala and Mom looking at me. "So…are you going?" asked Nala, looking hopeful. I didn't want to believe you. I looked at the two of them and said, "I'm definitely going." They both breathed a sigh of relief. Then Nala and I locked eyes, and she said softly, "What made you come back?" I laughed and replied, "I finally got some sense knocked into me. And I've got the bump to prove it. Besides, this is my kingdom. If I don't fight for it, who will?"

"I will." Said Nala, standing by my side.

"It's gonna be dangerous." I warned. Nala gave me a look of amusement and quoted me precisely, "Danger? Ha! I laugh in the face of danger." I raised my eyebrows and said. "Can't say I didn't warn you. Remember what happened last time someone said that." She glanced from side to side, as if expecting hyenas to come out of the woodwork. Then she laughed and said. "I don't we'll find trouble now. What's your plan?" I had thought long and hard about what I was going to do when I got back, so I told her.

"Well, the first thing we have to do is find out who is loyal to me, and who is loyal to Scar. Remember, nobody but Mom knows we're alive."

"Exactly." Mom interjected. "I already know who would switch allegiance, if they knew; about 11 of the 15 lionesses, and the all 6 males besides Scar."

"Any cubs?"

"No; unfortunately, all the cubs died of starvation." Mom said sadly.

"What!" Nala and I shouted, furious. Mom shook her head sadly and said, "It's true; the hyenas have been grabbing so many of _our_ kills, there wasn't enough left for the cubs. Only five were born in the past several years, and all are dead. The only cubs alive are the ones that were there before you left; Ashanti, Rahi, Mati, and Kuda. They're all grown; Ashanti and Rahi are two of the four lionesses aligned with Scar."

"And the other two?"

"Zira and Indlovukazi." I recognized the two; they were sisters, and had always been loyal to my uncle. "How do you plan to attack, once we have the loyal members of the pride rallied?"

"Strike Scar and the others on the promontory, and corner them"

"You really think that'll work?" said Nala. I laughed and said, "I think the shock of seeing the two people he thought were gone for good is enough to shock him into stepping down. If not…I think when he finds himself cornered and vastly outnumbered, he will step down. I will not kill him or the others, though; I think it's best that they are banished." Mom nodded approvingly.

"Sounds exactly like something Mufasa would say." I beamed and said, "Well, there's no time to lose. Let's go back." And so, all three of us set out for our home again.


	18. The Death of the King

**We're getting closer and closer to Scars death; however, whoever wants me to continue the story past his, just read and review. **

After hours of running, we finally reached the Pridelands again. And when I saw it, I was absolutely shocked. My home was desolated. Ruined. _Destroyed_. Where once there had been green grass, and herds of animals roaming free, there was only gray earth. Even the sky was gray to match the land below. Sharp black thorns and brambles meandered across the landscape, holding it in a stranglehold. It looked eerily like the Elephant Graveyard, especially with the bones littered all over the place. There were a few dying acacia trees, half-rotten and stripped of leaves. All in all, the Pridelands, my kingdom, was a total shambles.

If I had been younger I would have cried, but now all I felt was determination and fury; determination to fix this, and fury at my Uncle. I looked at Nala, seeing her very angry. "That…_monster_," she spat, "Has destroyed our home." She stared right at me, looking more unwavering than I'd ever seen her before. "We _will_ give your uncle what is coming to him. Besides, you only said not to kill him." I knew what she wanted; a chance to pay back Scar for all the pain he had caused her, me, and my family over the years. I was about to speak, but she cut across me, "Remember; if anyone lays a paw on you, I will make them regret it." She said fiercely. Back in our cubhood, I would have been defending her, I thought with a smile. I responded just as fiercely, "And if you are hurt, I will make sure the one responsible will not likely do so ever again." This vow was stronger than any we had ever made before, because we meant it with all our hearts.

With Nala and I side-by-side, and my mother behind, we headed towards Pride rock in the distance. Just when we reached the base, I turned to Nala and Mom. "You two rally the lionesses; I'll handle my uncle." The two nodded and headed up Pride Rock by a different path. I looked up, and ascended the one that overlooked the promontory. I climbed and climbed, until I reached a ledge. I froze when I heard voices, and looked down. Before me was my filthy uncle flanked by several dozen hyenas, while staring warily at a semicircle of very irate lionesses. To my displeasure, I had forgotten exactly how many hyenas there were.

"Where is your hunting party? They're not doing their job." Scar said bluntly to one of mother's friends, Askari. She looked disdainfully at the hyenas and said calmly, "Scar, there is no food. The herds have moved on." My uncle turned livid and snapped, "No, there's food. You're just not looking hard enough for it." Askari just gave him a cold stare, and replied, "Face it, _Scar_. It's over. There is nothing left. We have only one choice. We must leave Pride Rock." My uncle growled stubbornly, "We're not going anywhere."

"Then you have sentenced us to death." She protested.

"So be it." He said stubbornly. Ok, I needed to force my uncle to step down before he starting killing anybody. Before I could, Askari said in disgust, "You can't do that, Scar!"

"I'm the king. I can do whatever I want."

"If you were half the king Mufasa was we would never-" She was cut short when Scar swiped her across the face in anger, shouting, "I'm ten times the king Mufasa was!" At this point, I jumped down from the ledge, right in front of my uncle.

His reaction was priceless; first he looked immensely confused, then extremely terrified, and said weakly, "Mufasa?"

"No. It's me." Scar just looked even more confused, and then regained his composure.

"Simba? I'm a little surprised to see you," he said, now glancing at Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, "alive." I walked towards Scar, my claws unsheathed.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart, Scar." I threatened, backing him into a wall. He immediately turned apologetic, and started stammering excuses, "Oh, Simba, you must understand. The pressures of ruling a kingdom..."

"…are no longer _yours_." I finished smoothly. "Step down, Scar." At this point my uncle detached himself from the wall and said carefully, "Oh, oh, ye- Well, I would, heh, naturally, heh- however, there is one little problem."

"And that is?" He brought his voice to a whisper, and subtly jabbed his claw in the direction of the hyenas.

"You see- they think _**I'm**_ king." At this point Nala and Mom showed up behind me, eyeing my uncle with disgust.

"Well, we don't. Simba is the rightful king." Said Nala proudly. Scar looked back from me to the lionesses. Before he could say anything, I said firmly, "The choice is yours, Scar. Either step down or fight." Just when he was looking the most desperate, a small smile spread across his face, and he said with fake regret, "Oh, must it all end in violence? I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a family member. Wouldn't you agree, Simba? And you Nala?" He glanced at both of us. He was playing his most desperate card, but even the dread in my heart couldn't stop me from doing this.

"That's not gonna work, Scar. We've put it behind us." Nala said. My uncle sneered, and looked at the lionesses behind us.

"Eh, but what about your faithful subjects? Have they put it behind them?"

"Simba, Nala…what is he talking about?" asked Mom. No, I couldn't tell her, not now. But Scar cut across me cruelly before I could reply.

"Ahh, so you haven't told them your little secret. Well, you two, now's your chance to tell them. Tell them who is responsible for Mufasa and Sarafina's death!" I looked at Nala, and we steeled ourselves. Then we stepped forward boldly, and said, "We are." An explosion of mutters and whispers erupted among the pride. I looked to see my mother in tears on our right side.

"It's not true. Tell me it's not true." I wished I could tell her otherwise, but I said regretfully, "It's true." At this point, my uncle looked absolutely delighted.

"You see? They admit it! Murderers!" He began circling me and Nala.

"No. It was an accident." Nala said firmly.

"If it weren't for you, Mufasa and Sarafina would still be alive.

It's your fault they're dead; do you deny it?"

"No." I said. "But-"

"Then... you're... guilty." He said severely, an evil gleam in his eyes.

"No. We're not murderers!" Nala protested. But Scar just continued talking.

"Oh, Simba and Nala, you're in trouble again. But this time, Mommy and Daddy aren't here to save you. And now EVERYONE… KNOWS...WHY!" He started moving towards us, backing us towards the end of the Promontory. Eventually, we stumbled, and Nala and I found ourselves clinging to the edge of the rock, holding on for dear life. Scar sneered down at us, then sat up to fake think.

"Now this looks familiar. Hmm. Where have I seen this before? Let me think. Hmmm... hmmm. Oh yes,

I remember. This is just the way your parents looked before they died." At that, Nala and I froze in shock, staring up my malicious, _murdering_ uncle. It had been him all along! Spurred on by rage, Nala and I sprang up, knocking Scar back and pinning him to the ground.

"Murderer!" I shouted, my claws on his throat.

"No, Simba, please..." Nala cut across him.

"Tell them the truth." She said forcefully, her claws on his throat, too. "Or if Simba doesn't tear you apart, _I_ will." Scar tried to sputter something, but our claws on his throat prevented him. "Now tell them…WHO…KILLED…OUR PARENTS?" He looked up at us in terror, then shouted over his shoulder, "Fine. I KILLED MUFASA AND SARAFINA!" There was an immediate uproar, and I had to restrain my mother from leaping on my uncle. At this point, the hyenas finally attacked in a wall of fur, teeth and claws. The lionesses leapt forward to meet them, and a bloody fray ensued. Nala and I fought with Scar, driving him up the promontory. Eventually, he found himself cornered and backed between a rock and hard place.

"Simba, Simba. Please. Please have mercy. I beg you…"

"You don't deserve to live." Said Nala, baring her teeth in fury. My uncle stammered in desperation, "But Simba…I-I'm family. It's the hyenas who are the enemy!" The battle behind us stopped, as all the hyenas stopped fighting, and turned to glare at my uncle. If we didn't kill him, they would.

"Why should we believe you?" Nala said. "Everything you ever told us was a lie." Scar put on an ingratiating grin, and said, "Now, Simba. You wouldn't kill your dear uncle, would you?" Nala raised her claw threateningly, "Well, you're not _my_ uncle." Scar shrank back, cowed. But I interjected before Nala could do anything.

"We're not like him, Nala. There is a better way." She lowered her claw in disappointment, still glowering at my uncle.

"Oh, thank you so much, Simba. I-"

"Oh, I never said you were off the hook, Scar. Run away. Run away and never return." He gasped and said, "You couldn't possibly-"

"Yes of course. As you wish…YOUR MAJESTY!" He swiped me across the face. Howling in pain, I swiped him with my claws, knocking him down the promontory and onto the ground far below. I saw the circle of hyenas surrounding him, and knew he was going to die. I looked at Nala and brought her into a close hug. It was over.


	19. Epilogue

Author's note: This is the end of this story, but I'm starting a sequel that immediately follows the last chapter. This time, it's gonna be switching povs, and it's gonna be Kopa/ Vitani. Kiara/Kovu will come later. Now, I'm gonna write what happened in between the two movies. Stay reading!


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